Problem: Find the smallest solution to the equation \[\lfloor x^2 \rfloor - \lfloor x \rfloor^2 = 17.\]
Let $n = \lfloor x \rfloor$ and $a = \{x\}.$ Then, we have \[\begin{aligned} \lfloor x^2 \rfloor &= \lfloor (n+a)^2 \rfloor \\& = \lfloor n^2 + 2na + a^2 \rfloor \\ &= n^2 + \lfloor 2na + a^2 \rfloor \end{aligned}\]because $n^2$ is an integer. We are given that $\lfloor x^2 \rfloor - n^2 = 17,$ so we have the equation \[\lfloor 2na + a^2 \rfloor = 17.\]That is, \[17 \le 2na + a^2 < 18.\]Since $0 \le a < 1,$ we have $2na + a^2 < 2n + 1,$ so $17 < 2n+1,$ and $n > 8.$ Therefore, the smallest possible value for $n$ is $n = 9.$ To minimize $x,$ we should minimize $n,$ so take $n = 9.$ This gives \[17 \le 18a + a^2 < 18.\]Then $0 \le a^2 + 18a - 17.$ The roots of $a^2 + 18a - 17 = 0$ are \[a = \frac{-18 \pm \sqrt{18^2 + 4 \cdot 17}}{2} = -9 \pm 7\sqrt{2},\]and since $a \ge 0,$ we must have $a \ge -9 + 7\sqrt{2}.$ Hence, \[x = n + a \ge 9 + (-9 + 7\sqrt2) = 7\sqrt2.\]Indeed, $x=7\sqrt2$ is a solution to the equation, because \[\lfloor x^2 \rfloor - \lfloor x \rfloor^2 = \lfloor 98 \rfloor - \lfloor 9 \rfloor^2 = 98 - 9^2 = 17,\]so the answer is $\boxed{7\sqrt2}.$